Some embodiments described herein relate generally to load balancing of wireless access points. More particularly, some embodiments described herein relate to systems and methods for efficient radio frequency (RF) load balancing in high density deployments of wireless access points according to spatial stream capabilities.
More and more networks are established via wireless communication. In some instances, wireless access points (WAPs) are configured to connect wireless client devices with other portions of a wireless local area network (WLAN). In such instances, a WAP and the client devices can form a basic service set (BSS). In the simplest form, the WAP can act as a master to control the client devices within the BSS and to provide access to the network. In some instances, an extended service set (ESS) can be established by interconnecting multiple BSSs. For example, in some instances, the interconnected BSSs can operate on the same channel with a minimal overlap to expand the coverage of the wireless network.
With the evolution of mobile computing and communication devices (e.g., laptops, tablet personal computers (PCs), smart phones, personal digital assistants (PDAs), or the like), the number of client devices attempting to connect to such ESSs has dramatically increased. In an effort to accommodate a higher density of client devices, an ESS can be established by interconnecting multiple BSSs operating on different channels and having an overlapping coverage. For example, in some instances, multiple WAPs can be connected to provide the client devices access to the network. In such instances, RF load balancing techniques can be used to control the association of client devices to a specific WAP included in the ESS. For example, in some instances, a wireless controller can perform RF load balancing based on the number of client devices connected to a WAP. In such instances, a WAP with a higher number of client devices connected thereto at a given time can be more difficult to access than a WAP with a lower number of connected client devices.
In some instances, the wireless controller can perform RF load balancing based on the load present on a WAP. For example, in some instances, a WAP can be connected to a client device with a high bandwidth such that the load on the WAP is greater than a load on a second WAP included in the ESS. In such instances, the wireless controller can prevent additional client devices from connecting to the WAP with the higher load regardless of the number of client devices connected thereto.
In some instances, wireless access points having differing spatial stream capabilities can be interconnected to form an ESS. For example, an ESS can include WAPs capable of transmitting one, two, or three spatial streams. Known RF load balancing techniques, however, generally ignore the throughput capabilities of the WAPs and the client devices and, therefore, do not associate the spatial stream capabilities of the client devices with the spatial stream capabilities of the WAPs. For example, in some instances a wireless controller may associate a client device capable of transmitting three spatial streams with a WAP capable of transmitting a single spatial stream. In this manner, the potential throughput of the client device is not realized.
Thus, a need exists for improved systems and methods of RF load balancing in high density deployments according to spatial stream capabilities.